ViewSonic VX2250wm

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Review Price: £163.68

LED backlighting is gaining ever more traction in the display market, and ViewSonic has provided us with yet another contender, the 21.5in VX2250wm. This affordable TN-based monitor offers dual inputs, a slim profile, integrated speakers and a (by now standard at this size) Full HD/1080p resolution, not to mention a ludicrous 10,000,000:1 claimed dynamic contrast ratio. Let’s see how it holds up.

As usual with budget monitors, the VX2250wm comes in two parts which are easy to assemble: just place the base on a desk and click the monitor and stand into it, secure a thumb-screw and you’re done. As you might already have guessed adjustability is limited to tilt, but again that’s par for the course.

The monitor sports VGA, DVI and 3.5mm audio connections (the latter feeding its integrated speakers), which are facing downwards so they’re not the easiest to access, but at least ViewSonic provides cables for all of them. Some might bemoan the lack of HDMI, but you can hook up HDMI cables to DVI with a cheap and simple adapter, and adding the extra digital input would have hiked this monitor’s price up.

There’s no power brick to worry about either as the VX2250wm’s transformer is integrated into its chassis, meaning it takes a standard kettle lead. Build quality is decent enough though it’s not the best we’ve come across, with the occasional bit of creaking here and there. At a mere 3.5kg, it’s quite light though.

When it comes to design the VX2250wm is reasonably attractive. Despite its potential for high maintenance, we really like the high-gloss black finish, especially when combined with its subtly tapered bezel and slim edges. This is all offset by a transparent strip at the base, which works well but is ruined somewhat by the awkward-looking power button. A transparent blue-backlit affair with a sharp chrome trim, we can’t quite put our finger on why it doesn’t work, but the somewhat clunky stand certainly doesn’t help.

Overall, we’d say the likes of the BenQ V2220 easily beat this ViewSonic in the design stakes, but it’s still a decent-looking display. However, being a practical lot we’ll always prefer the more durable matt finish exhibited by the Samsung SyncMaster BX2240 and BenQ V2410T.